Respite Care Costs: Weekly Care Home Fees and Who Pays (2026)

In short: there is no single price for respite care. The NHS says the cost can vary a lot, and some respite services are free. As a guide, care homes on AskBart publish a typical weekly fee of £1,233 to £1,319, but a home may price a short stay differently, so always ask. The council may help if you and the person you care for are assessed, and a short stay is often means-tested more gently than a permanent move.

What care homes publish as their weekly fee

We do not hold separate data on respite prices. What we can show is the weekly fee care homes publish on AskBart. Use these figures as a starting point, not a respite quote.

Respite in a care home is only one kind of break. The NHS lists cheaper or free options too:

• Sitting services: a trained volunteer keeps the person company for a few hours. These are often free, or there may be a small charge.
• Day centres: usually run by councils or local charities. Transport is often provided, but there may be a charge.
• Help at home from a paid carer: regular visits, or a week of cover so you can have a holiday.

How care homes charge for a short stay

Each home sets its own terms, and the NHS says the cost of respite can vary a lot. Some homes take respite bookings in advance. Before you book, ask the home:

• What is the weekly price for a respite stay, and is it the same as the fee for permanent residents?
• What is the minimum length of stay, and how far ahead do you need a booking?
• What is included, and what costs extra?
• Do you take people whose stay is paid for by the council?

Help from the council

The NHS says councils only fund respite for people they have assessed as needing it. So you should ask for a carer's assessment for yourself and a needs assessment for the person you look after. Both are arranged through adult social services at the local council, and the carer's assessment is free. If you qualify, the council does a financial assessment to work out whether it will pay towards the break.

Who is charged

The Care Act guidance says that when replacement care is given to the person you look after so that you can have a break, it is a service to them. That means it is charged to them, not to you. Carers UK says it is not common for councils in England to charge carers for their own support.

How a short stay is means-tested

The Care Act statutory guidance has special rules for stays in a care home that are not permanent:

• Short-term residents stay for up to 8 weeks, for example for respite. The council may choose to charge them using the rules for care at home, rather than the rules for care homes.
• Temporary residents are expected to stay less than 52 weeks, with a plan to go home. Their main home must be ignored if they intend to return to it and it is still available to them.
• Councils can choose whether to charge at all when they arrange care.

Councils use these choices differently. Reading Borough Council, for example, uses its rules for care at home to work out what a person pays for a planned respite stay of up to 28 nights. Ask your own council for its charging policy.

The standard capital limits in England are £23,250 and £14,250. If the person has more than the upper limit, they will usually pay the full cost. They can still have a needs assessment and advice. They can also ask the council to arrange the stay, though the council may charge an arrangement fee.

Direct payments

If the council agrees to fund a break, you can ask for a direct payment and book it yourself. The guidance says direct payments can pay for a short stay in a care home of up to 4 consecutive weeks in any 12-month period. Two stays less than 4 weeks apart are added together. The council can still arrange and fund longer stays if it agrees they are needed.

Attendance Allowance

Attendance Allowance is a weekly benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision. It is £76.70 or £114.60 a week in 2026/27, and it is not means-tested. The NHS says it is one of the ways people raise money for respite they pay for themselves.

• In the council's financial assessment for a temporary stay, Attendance Allowance should be completely ignored.
• GOV.UK says you cannot usually get Attendance Allowance while you live in a care home that the council pays for. The Care Act guidance says it stops after 4 weeks of council support. If you pay for the care home yourself, you can still claim.
• In Scotland, people apply for Pension Age Disability Payment instead.

Charities and grants

• Carers Trust: carers may get a grant from their local Carers Trust Network Partner, as part of wider support. Some partners need you to be registered with them first.
• Turn2us: the NHS points to its grants search for people who need respite care but cannot afford it. Carers Trust suggests searching on your own details and on those of the person you care for.
• Your carer's assessment: Carers UK suggests raising the cost of a break during the assessment, and asking your council or local carers' centre about local grants.

New to respite? Start with what respite care is. If the person you care for has dementia, see dementia respite care.

Related guides

• Emergency Respite Care: What to Do When a Carer Falls Ill
• Respite Care over Christmas and Holidays: Booking Early
• How Much Does Dementia Care Cost in the UK? 2026 Fees by Region
• How Much Does a Nursing Home Cost in the UK? 2026 Fees by Region

Sources

• Carers' breaks and respite care (NHS)
• Carer's assessments (NHS)
• Care and support statutory guidance: chapters 8, 11 and 12, and Annex F (GOV.UK)
• Attendance Allowance (GOV.UK)
• Charging for short-term and respite stays in a care home (Reading Borough Council)
• Taking a break (Carers UK)
• Having a carer's assessment (Carers UK)
• Grants and discounts (Carers Trust)
• Making arrangements for respite care (Alzheimer's Society)